Visit Brighton Permaculture Trust’s projects at Stanmer Park, including the Plot, the Fruit Factory, Home Farm Orchard and more.
Children are welcome when supervised by an adult, and children under 10 attend for free. Dogs must be kept on a lead.
What you’ll see
The tour will include visits to:
- Our plot – view forest gardens, our fruit nursery, what we’re growing, and a site where volunteers can muck in
- Our nationally-recognized collection of rare Sussex apples
- Our orchards – three orchards of varying ages and characters, managed for fruit, wildlife and education
- The Fruit Factory – the new home for our scrumping project, which uses fruit that would otherwise go unharvested from around the city
Tour leaders
The tour will be led by Bryn Thomas, Fran Pickering and Peter May.
Bryn Thomas is fruit projects manager for Brighton Permaculture Trust. Particular areas of interest include fruit growing, pruning and forest gardening.
Fran Pickering has been with the Trust since 2003, and her main areas of interest are local food production, grass root catering, green building, and community building.
Peter May is a horticulturalist who is jointly responsible for the management of several community orchards and runs regular courses for Brighton Permaculture Trust and Plumpton Agricultural College on a range of orchard skills. He is co-author of Apples & Orchards in Sussex and has propagated over a thousand Sussex apple trees.
Lunch
There will be an optional picnic lunch in Home Farm orchard after the tour (12:30 – 1:30pm). If you wish to arrive early and eat with us, please bring a packed lunch.
What to bring
The tour will be outdoors and include a walk of approximately two miles, so please dress appropriately. Be aware that you may be spending a long time in direct sunshine. You may want to bring a drink, although Stanmer Tea Rooms and Stanmer House will be open.
Accessibility
We endeavour to accommodate people with various access issues. If you have limited mobility or a disability that you think may affect your ability to attend, please contact us before booking to discuss how you can be accommodated. It is often possible to use a vehicle to get right up to venues or join us at various points on visits. Please let us know if you would like to do this.
Venue
Stanmer Park (near University of Sussex)
Brighton
BN1 9QA
Get directions to our meeting point near the church in Stanmer Park.
Booking the tour
We have not yet set a date for the next tour.
Find out more
If the tour inspires you and you’d like to learn more about permaculture gardening or fruit tree management, we offer a range of projects, courses and events that might interest you Please see our Courses and events category